ARCHETYPAL THEORY AND TAROT IN LITERARY NARRATIVE: THE ALCHEMIST’S JOURNEY IN THE CASTLE OF CROSSED DESTINIES, BY ITALO CALVINO

Abstract

This study aims to identify the archetypal images present in the narrative “The Story of the Alchemist Who Sold His Soul”, a short story included in The Castle of Crossed Destinies, by Italo Calvino (1991), and to understand how these images are articulated to compose part of the main character’s (the alchemist’s) process of self-knowledge. The work is marked by the integration of verbal elements with images from tarot cards, giving it a multimodal character (BARTHES, 2011). For this interpretation, I draw on Jung’s theory of archetypes (2014), as applied to the study of literary narratives (ANAZ, 2020), since tarot cards symbolize archetypal images—that is, they indicate universal patterns of behavior present in our collective unconscious and reveal identities that are re-signified (MISHLER, 1999) as the character interacts with the environment. Thus, by examining the arrangement of the cards and their articulation with the text, it is possible to recognize that the alchemist was an ambitious young man who decided to negotiate with the devil in order to become wealthy, in exchange for the souls of other people. The archetypal images identified (anima, shadow, and self) point to the need for self-reflection in order to free oneself from the ego and follow the path toward individuation.